• The Swedish vendor has unveiled a 5G-Advanced location services solution that can be integrated into existing 5G SA systems without need for additional sensors
• It offers sub-10cm outdoor and sub-1m indoor positioning
• Integrated APIs will support use cases for manufacturing, healthcare, public safety and other vertical markets

Ericsson has unveiled a new 5G-Advanced location services offering that, it claims, can offer users sub-1m indoor accuracy and deliver the benefits of both indoor and outdoor location services without the need for additional sensors.

5G positioning services are regarded as a significant business opportunity for mobile network operators, especially in the enterprise sector where there is a demand for enhanced precision in transportation and logistics, manufacturing, agriculture, retail and healthcare, for example.

Ericsson’s new 5G-Advanced location service solution embeds positioning as a prime capability, enabled by the vendor’s 5G standalone (SA) core platform and its radio access network (RAN) systems. 

The solution allows Ericsson’s network operator customers to provide additional location services within their existing 5G SA networks direct to device, which will potentially reduce the complexity of providing such services and save on power consumption, the Swedish vendor claims.

End-to-end software features in RAN and 5G core – specifically the gateway mobile location centre (GMLC), location management function (LMF) and access and mobility management function (AMF) – can now be activated in order to enable the capabilities of 5G Advanced location services: Ericsson says the solution is commercially available as of now.

The new solution will leverage integrated application programming interfaces (APIs) and network-centric location capabilities to open doors to manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, drones, public safety and other vertical markets.

Among the benefits that Ericsson is claiming for the new solution are a high degree of accuracy both indoors and outdoors, scalability, improved battery life compared with satellite-based solutions, and support for large-scale use cases through geofencing or density analysis.

It provides sub-10cm outdoor precision through the implementation of real-time kinematics (RTK), a type of GPS technology that combines GPS signals with real-time error correction data sent by a local base station, and sub-1m indoor precision enabled by Ericsson’s indoor solutions.

“We believe this launch marks a clear leap in the industry around positioning and location services,” Ericsson’s head of solution line communication services, Jon Illana, told TelecomTV. “It will allow service providers to move beyond mobile broadband and really complement positioning services that have not been possible to offer up to now.”

One key advantage, according to Illana, is that the infrastructure capabilities required to enable these positioning services are already built into 5G SA networks, meaning Ericsson’s existing SA customers can offer these services to their enterprise partners without the need for additional hardware. 

According to the Swedish vendor, as of January 2026, it supports 55 live 5G SA networks. 

As previously reported, the deployment of 5G SA networks has been slower than the industry had anticipated but the pace is now picking up, with the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) noting at the end of last year that 181 operators in 73 countries and territories worldwide are now investing in public 5G SA networks. 

Ericsson says it has trialled the solution with customers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, and that it is “in the initial phases of commercial engagements, including a recently signed deal with a US tier 1 operator”, though it declined to identify any of the operators involved “due to confidentiality agreements”.

But what makes 5G location services better than the alternatives already available, such as GPS or other additional sensors that allow long range location, or indeed Bluetooth tracking, for example, for more localised positioning?

Illana acknowledges that GPS has many day-to-day applications, “but it also has very big shortcomings,” he adds. “For example, it doesn’t really work indoors, and we spend the vast majority of our time indoors. GPS also requires a significant amount of battery [power], but 5G SA location won’t need this.”

Users can leverage Ericsson indoor 5G Radio Dot small cells – which were launched in 2023 and include precise-location software – to boost indoor tracking.

He also points to security issues around GPS spoofing or jamming but adds that the 5G solution can also be complementary to GPS: This means enterprise customers could use GPS while outdoors and switch to 5G SA-enabled positioning when indoors to keep an accurate location on a device, person or asset.

According to Illana, the level of accuracy offered by 5G SA location services without the need for a handover will have significant appeal to logistics companies, which might need to track an asset indoors at a warehouse or outside while being delivered. It will also appeal to the manufacturing industry where it can be used in geofencing for autonomous vehicles or robots.

“We’ve also looked at use cases for first responders,” he added. “A more precise location can direct responders to the right place in a much better way. But also, it can be used in drones or vehicles, to help avoid crowds.”

Ericsson said increasing demand for autonomous vehicles and robots will, in turn, lead to increasing demand for accurate location services, making this “a significant opportunity for monetisation. There is significant value in 5G in its own right, but as we see the increasing footprint of 5G SA and mid-band networks, this opportunity comes along on top of this, and it is an area not really being addressed by the service providers at this time. This technology allows them to play a crucial role in that market,” according to the vendor.

- James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV